1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak

1981 UK natural disaster August 2023 22–24 November 1981 104 F2 None reported Unknown, but hundreds of properties damaged East Midlands; East of England; North West England; South East England; Wales; West Midlands; Yorkshire and the Humber 1981–82 United Kingdom cold wave and tornado outbreaks of 1981 The 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak is regarded as the largest recorded tornado outbreak in European history, and is tied with the tornado outbreak of 22–24 November 2004 as the largest November tornado outbreak globally. In the span of 5 hours and 26 minutes during the late morning and early afternoon of 23 November 1981, 104 confirmed tornadoes touched down across Wales and central, northern and eastern England.https://www.eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi European Severe Weather Database www.eswd.eu 21 August 2020 12 May 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200512020909/https://eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi dead Although the majority of tornadoes were very weak, measuring FU-F1 on the Fujita scale, widespread property damage was reported, mainly from the small number of tornadoes which intensified to F2 strength. By the end of the outbreak, hundreds of properties across the country had been damaged.10.1002/j.1477-8696.1985.tb06883.x Britain's Greatest Tornado Outbreak Weather 40 8 230–235 1985 Rowe M. W. Meaden G. T. 1985Wthr...40..230R Most of the tornadoes occurred in rural areas and small villages across central parts of the United Kingdom, although several large metropolitan areas were affected. The St Helens area was the first to be struck by multiple tornadoes around 11:30, followed by the Manchester area around 12:00, the Hull area around 13:30 and the Birmingham area around 14:00. The strongest tornado of the outbreak, an F2 tornado, struck Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales at 10:30; the only other F2 tornado of the outbreak caused considerable damage in the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire around 14:00. With 104 tornadoes, this single-day outbreak alone saw more confirmed tornadoes than any other whole year in British history – 1974 previously held the record, with 80 tornadoes across the whole year. At the time of the 1981 outbreak, there had only been one other tornado outbreak in recorded history which produced more than 100 tornadoes within 24 hours, that being the 1974 Super Outbreak in the United States. However, that outbreak included many more powerful tornadoes and resulted in hundreds of fatalities. Meteorological background On 22 November 1981, a rapidly deepening low-pressure extratropical cyclone was centred just off the northern coast of Scotland. The central pressure of this system was 994 mbar at 12:00 GMT on 22 November, deepening to 968 mbar by 12:00 GMT on 23 November.10.1175/WAF-D-15-0131.1 Reexamining the United Kingdom's Greatest Tornado Outbreak: Forecasting the Limited Extent of Tornadoes along a Cold Front Weather and Forecasting 31 3 853–875 2016 Apsley Miriam L. Mulder Kelsey J. Schultz David M. 2016WtFor..31..853A http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/61279/1/waf-d-15-0131%252E1.pdf At the same time, a high-pressure anticyclone was pushing into southern England from mainland Europe. There was an unusually strong upper-level temperature gradient between the low- and high-pressure systems, with the low-pressure system funnelling in cold, arctic air from the north, clashing with humid, subtropical air moving up from southern Europe in the anticyclone.https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twocommunity/default.aspx?g=posts&t=17086 23 November 1981: Tornado Outbreak - TheWeatherOutlook forum www.theweatheroutlook.com During the morning of 23 November, a cold front attached to the southern edge of the low-pressure area began to cross the United Kingdom from west to east. Fuelled by this temperature gradient and warm subtropical air to the south, a number of supercell thunderstorms became embedded within the southern edge of the cold front and its pre-frontal rain bands, spawning the first tornadoes over Wales around 10:30 GMT. By mid-afternoon, 104 tornadoes had been confirmed across the United Kingdom. Several days after the tornado outbreak, the high-pressure anticyclone to the south of the British Isles broke down, allowing colder arctic air to move in from the north, resulting in the start of a record-breaking cold wave. Confirmed tornadoes 104 21 24 57 2 0 0 0 no List of reported tornadoes - Monday 23 November 1981 F# T# Location County Coord. Time (UTC) Path length Comments/DamageWales F1 T2AmlwchAnglesey53.40 -4.33 Amlwch (1019, F1)10:19(±15 mins)6 km miFirst tornado of the outbreak; touched down in Rhosgoch and moved north-eastwards towards Amlwch. F2 T5HolyheadAnglesey53.31 -4.64 Holyhead (1034, F2)10:34Strongest tornado of the outbreak. 20 houses were damaged in Holyhead and a mobile home was overturned and destroyed. FU TUHolyheadAnglesey53.30 -4.63 Holyhead (1034, FU)10:34 F1 T2Penrhos FeilwAnglesey53.29 -4.68 Penrhos Feilw (1045, F1)10:45(±15 mins) F1 T3Llanddaniel FabAnglesey53.21 -4.26 Llanddaniel Fab (1100, F1)11:00(±5 mins)North West England F1 T3WallaseyMerseyside53.43 -3.07 Wallasey (1130, F1)11:30(±5 mins) F0 T1BirkenheadMerseyside53.40 -3.03 Birkenhead (1130, F0)11:30(±1 hour) F1 T2St HelensMerseyside53.45 -2.73 St Helens (1150, F1)11:50(±5 mins)Tornado passed through St Helens town centre, causing damage. F1 T3Great SuttonCheshire53.27 -2.94 Great Sutton (1200, F1)12:00(±5 mins) F1 T3AntrobusCheshire53.31 -2.54 Antrobus (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours) F1 T3CroftCheshire53.43 -2.55 Croft (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours)11 km miTornado later moved over the town of Warrington, causing some damage. F1 T2HollinwoodGreater Manchester53.52 -2.13 Hollinwood (1200, F1)12:00(±30 mins)5 km miTornado later moved over the town of Oldham, causing some damage. F1 T2Cheadle HulmeGreater Manchester53.37 -2.18 Cheadle Hulme (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours)Small tornado affecting parts of the town of Stockport. F0 T1WhitefieldGreater Manchester53.55 -2.30 Whitefield (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours)Small tornado affecting parts of the town of Bury. F0 T1TimperleyGreater Manchester53.40 -2.33 Timperley (1200, F0)12:00(±5 mins)West Midlands F1 T2NorburyShropshire53.53 -2.94 Norbury (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours)60 km miStaying on the ground for a long distance, this tornado also significantly affected the town of Whitchurch before dissipating. F1 T3Market DraytonShropshire52.91 -2.49 Market Drayton (1200, F1)12:00(±5 mins) F0 T1BeckburyShropshire52.62 -2.35 Beckbury (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours) F1 T2KnockinShropshire52.78 -3.00 Knockin (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours)8 km miAlso affected the town of Oswestry, causing some damage. F1 T2Chetwynd ManorShropshire52.77 -2.38 Chetwynd Manor (1200, F1)12:00(±5 mins)5 km miThe market town of Newport was also impacted by this tornado. F1 T2IronbridgeShropshire52.63 -2.47 Ironbridge (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours) F0 T1KenilworthWarwickshire52.35 -1.58 Kenilworth (1200, F0)12:00(±15 mins) F0 T1Fenny ComptonWarwickshire52.15 -1.38 Fenny Compton (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours) F1 T2WemShropshire52.86 -2.72 Wem (1205, F1)12:05(±5 mins) F1 T2FordhousesWest Midlands52.63 -2.13 Fordhouses (1400, F1)14:00(±1 hour)Tornado caused damage in the suburbs of Wolverhampton. F1 T2BloxwichWest Midlands52.62 -2.00 Bloxwich (1400, F1)14:00(±1 hour)Tornado affected the outskirts of Walsall. F1 T2DudleyWest Midlands52.50 -2.08 Dudley (1400, F1)14:00(±1 hour)1.5 km miTornado touched down in the suburb of Woodsetton and later passed through Dudley town centre causing some damage before dissipating. F1 T2ErdingtonWest Midlands52.52 -1.84 Erdington (1400, F1)14:00(±1 hour)Tornado impacted the northern suburbs of Birmingham, causing some damage. F1 T2Selly OakWest Midlands52.43 -1.95 Selly Oak (1400, F1)14:00(±1 hour)Tornado impacted the southern suburbs of Birmingham, causing some damage. F0 T1SolihullWest Midlands52.42 -1.78 Solihull (1400, F0)14:00(±1 hour)Tornado affected the Windmill Road area of Solihull LodgeMeaden G. Terence Chatfield Christopher R. June–July 2009 Tornadoes in Birmingham, England 1931 and 1946 to 2005 http://www.ijmet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/339.pdf International Journal of Meteorology F2 T4StoneleighWarwickshire52.35 -1.52 Stoneleigh (1400, F2)14:00(±15 mins)Second strongest tornado of the outbreak, caused considerable damage in the village of Stoneleigh. 20 large static caravans were blown over and destroyed.South East England F0 T1ClaydonOxfordshire52.13 -1.33 Claydon (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours) F0 T1HorntonOxfordshire52.08 -1.42 Hornton (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours) F1 T2HavershamBuckinghamshire52.07 -0.78 Haversham (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours)Affected Milton Keynes. F1 T3WolvertonBuckinghamshire52.05 -0.82 Wolverton (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours)Affected Milton Keynes.East Midlands F0 T1DaventryNorthamptonshire52.25 -1.17 Daventry (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours) F1 T2Great HoughtonNorthamptonshire52.22 -0.83 Great Houghton (1200, F1)12:00(±3 hours) F0 T1Yardley HastingsNorthamptonshire52.20 -0.73 Yardley Hastings (1200, F0)12:00(±3 hours) F1 T2WrawbyLincolnshire53.57 -0.47 Wrawby (1315, F1)13:15(±5 mins) F1 T3South KillingholmeLincolnshire53.57 -0.23 South Killingholme (1330, F1)13:30(±1 hour) F1 T2KeelbyLincolnshire53.57 -0.25 Keelby (1330, F1)13:30(±1 hour) F1 T3GrimsbyLincolnshire53.53 -0.05 Grimsby (1330, F1)13:30(±1 hour) F0 T0Tydd St MaryLincolnshire52.75 0.14 Tydd St Mary (1445, F0)14:45(±30 mins)Yorkshire and the Humber F1 T2Kingston upon HullEast Riding of Yorkshire53.75 -0.34 Kingston upon Hull (1330, F1)13:30(±5 mins)Tornado passed through the north-eastern residential suburbs of Hull, causing damage. F0 T0Kingston upon HullEast Riding of Yorkshire53.74 -0.29 Kingston upon Hull (1330, F0)13:30(±1 hour)Small tornado affected the Port of Hull.East of England F1 T2CarltonBedfordshire52.19 -0.61 Carlton (1445, F1)14:45(±5 mins) F0 T0Aspley GuiseBedfordshire52.02 -0.63 Aspley Guise (1445, F0)14:45(±30 mins) F1 T2FlittonBedfordshire52.00 -0.45 Flitton (1445, F1)14:45(±30 mins) F0 T0LutonBedfordshire51.88 -0.42 Luton (1445, F0)14:45(±30 mins)Small tornado affected Luton, causing minimal damage. F1 T2Letchworth Garden CityHertfordshire51.97 -0.22 Letchworth Garden City (1445, F1)14:45(±30 mins) F1 T2FowlmereCambridgeshire52.08 0.08 Fowlmere (1445, F1)14:45(±5 mins) F0 T0Friday BridgeCambridgeshire52.62 0.16 Friday Bridge (1445, F0)14:45(±30 mins) F1 T2UpwellNorfolk52.60 0.22 Upwell (1445, F0)14:45(±30 mins) F1 T3HuntingdonCambridgeshire52.33 -0.18 Huntingdon (1445, F1)14:45(±5 mins)Moderate tornado caused damage in Huntingdon town centre. FU TUWickenCambridgeshire52.30 0.30 Wicken (1445, FU)14:45(±30 mins) F1 T2DiddingtonCambridgeshire52.27 -0.25 Diddington (1445, F1)14:45(±30 mins) F1 T2HarroldBedfordshire52.20 -0.61 Harrold (1500, F1)15:00(±5 mins) F1 T2SilsoeBedfordshire52.00 -0.42 Silsoe (1500, F1)15:00(±5 mins) F0 T1Melton ConstableNorfolk52.85 1.03 Melton Constable (1500, F0)15:00(±5 mins) F1 T2SwaffhamNorfolk52.65 0.68 Swaffham (1500, F1)15:00(±30 mins) F0 T1NorwichNorfolk52.63 1.30 Norwich (1500, F0)15:00(±30 mins)Small tornado affected Norwich city centre and surrounding suburbs, causing widespread but minor damage. F1 T2ShipdhamNorfolk52.62 0.90 Shipdham (1500, F1)15:00(±15 mins) F0 T1FouldenNorfolk52.55 0.60 Foulden (1500, F0)15:00(±30 mins) F1 T2MethwoldNorfolk52.52 0.55 Methwold (1500, F1)15:00(±5 mins) F1 T2MorningthorpeNorfolk52.48 1.27 Morningthorpe (1500, F1)15:00(±30 mins) F0 T1Pulham MarketNorfolk52.42 1.25 Pulham Market (1500, F0)15:00(±30 mins) F0 T1Pulham St MaryNorfolk52.43 1.25 Pulham St Mary (1500, F0)15:00(±30 mins) F0 T1LakenheathSuffolk52.43 0.57 Lakenheath (1500, F0)15:00(±30 mins) F0 T1Heybridge BasinEssex51.73 0.71 Heybridge Basin (1500, F0)15:00(±15 mins) F1 T2AntinghamNorfolk52.85 1.35 Antingham (1515, F1)15:15(±15 mins) F1 T2Long StrattonNorfolk52.48 1.23 Long Stratton (1515, F1)15:15(±5 mins) F1 T2ElmswellSuffolk52.23 0.92 Elmswell (1515, F1)15:15(±30 mins) F1 T2ChelmsfordEssex51.73 0.48 Chelmsford (1515, F1)15:15(±30 mins)Tornado affected Chelmsford city centre and surrounding suburbs causing minor damage. F1 T3North CreakeNorfolk52.90 0.77 North Creake (1520, F1)15:20(±15 mins) F0 T1MendleshamSuffolk52.25 1.07 Mendlesham (1520, F0)15:20(±5 mins) F1 T3BecclesSuffolk52.47 1.57 Beccles (1530, F1)15:30(±5 mins) F1 T2CombsSuffolk52.17 0.99 Combs (1530, F1)15:30(±5 mins) F1 T2Needham MarketSuffolk52.16 1.06 Needham Market (1530, F1)15:30(±15 mins) F1 T3CoddenhamSuffolk52.13 1.12 Coddenham (1530, F1)15:30(±5 mins) F1 T2Chignall SmealyEssex51.78 0.41 Chignall Smealy (1530, F1)15:30(±5 mins) F1 T2BroomfieldEssex51.77 0.47 Broomfield (1530, F1)15:30(±5 mins) F1 T2MundonEssex51.68 1.12 Mundon (1535, F1)15:35(±5 mins) F1 T2WymondhamNorfolk52.57 1.12 Wymondham (1540, F1)15:40(±15 mins) F1 T2Clacton-on-SeaEssex51.79 1.16 Clacton-on-Sea (1545, F1)15:45(±5 mins)Tornado affected Clacton town centre and the seafront, causing moderate damage. F1 T2West MerseaEssex51.77 0.90 West Mersea (1545, F1)15:45(±5 mins)Last tornado of the outbreak, touching down 5 hours and 26 minutes after the first tornado. See also List of European tornadoes and tornado outbreaks 1091 London tornado 2005 Birmingham tornado 2006 London tornado References 1981-11-22 11-22 1981-11-22 United Kingdom Tornado outbreak United Kingdom Tornado outbreak Category:Weather events in England Tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak 1981-11-22